PIÑON : "The Manna of the Mountains"
(Page 3 of 5)
July/August 1977
by FLORENCE BLANCHARD
Despite all these precautions, though, someone still invariably ends up with pitch in his beard or her hair. If this happens to you (and I guarantee it will), use a clean rag to apply a small amount of paint thinner to the spot. Then, since the solvent is both caustic and highly flammable, wash the thinner and dissolved sap away quickly with warm, soapy water.
RELATED CONTENT
How to grow these miniature fruit trees and miniature nut trees, including best tree varieties....
For a truly herbal shampoo, try this easy recipe for homemade shampoo made with yucca. Find out how...
If your hair color is looking a little tarnished, color your hair with one of these natural hair co...
Eagle and Bear in British Columbia build a pole barn....
How to build a wood and string climbing bear....
CLIMB THAT TREE!
As I've noted earlier, piñon nuts are clustered at the top of each tree . . . which means that you—or someone in your party—will have to get up there "amongst 'em" and knock them down if you expect to go home laden with anything resembling a bountiful harvest.
Not just anyone is ideally suited for this job, however. Remember that the Southwest is arid and that piñons are scrappy little trees. (It's not uncommon for one of these pines to be a century or more old . . . and still have a main trunk no more than six inches in diameter!) The branches of the piñon are thin and wobbly and the best candidate for shaking down pine nuts is a child between the ages of eight and twelve. Our nine- and eleven-year-old daughters vie for the honor ("Look Ma, no hands!") and their three-year-old brother can't wait until he's big enough to take over the task.
A sturdy stick about six feet long and padded on one end with a rag or piece of foam rubber (to protect the tree) is a big help to whoever draws the job of knocking down the nuts. If you're "it", just climb half or two-thirds of the way up a tree, reach up and out with the padded end of the pole, and carefully whack away at the cones. The folks down below will be greeted by a shower of mottled, coffee-brown nuts and quite a few whole cones.
If you've done a good job of spreading your sheets or tarp around the base of the piñon tree beforehand, most of the nuts will fall on the material. It's then a simple matter to fold the ends and sides of the fabric together and dump the harvest into your bags or boxes. Next tree! (We don't feel well provisioned for the winter unless we've squirreled away piñons from at least a half dozen trees . . . but we don't try to gather them all in one day!)
If, for some reason, you can't—or don't want to—wait until your piñons cones are half opened before knocking them down, you can whack away at the cones while they're still tightly closed and sappy. Stash the gooey globes in burlap ( not plastic, which will retain moisture and prevent the cones from drying out) bags and hang them from a tree at home. The first good fall freeze that comes along will then force the cones to ripen and expand enough to allow you to pick out the seeds within. Or, just as the Indians sometimes did, you can bury the closed cones in the ashes of a hot fire and let the heat force them open. Either of these methods of releasing the nuts is exceedingly messy compared to harvesting the piñons after they've been allowed to ripen on the tree.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
Next >>
